The Norwegians have opened a new observatory on the island of Svalbard, called the Kjell Henriksen Observatory. The Arctic lab, about 78 degrees north, has instruments from 16 institutions from 7 different countries. It will primarily focus on visual observations, but will be able to do other things, such as launch radar rockets into the arora borealis, and due to their extreme latitude and long periods of darkness, explore daytime arora.

• Northern Lights Lab

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As I sit and watch the snow fall, I find this article very intriguing. It’s pretty common knowledge that clouds need seeding, the results of which tend to be either rain or snow, or something in between. I’m used to thinking of the seeding material, or aerosols, as being very small bits of dust, non-biological dust. But, apparently, bacteria contribute to the aerosol composition, as well as fungi and algae. In fact, it seems that the presence of bacteria tends to cause water to freeze out at a higher temperature, and scientists think this is part of a strategy that the bacteria use to attack their hosts. In one case, bacteria can cause water on plants to freeze at a higher temperature, causing the plants to suffer tissue damage, making it easier for the bacteria to feed.

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